Join Ofwat’s RAPID & Environmental Planning Directorate as a Water Supply Infrastructure Engagement Lead
*Office Location: London (E14 4HD) or Birmingham (B5 4UA) with hybrid working*
About Us
We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales. Following the Independent Water Commission’s final report, the UK government has set out a bold new direction – one that brings together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment.
We are working in collaboration with the government and other regulators to help establish a new body for England, combining our strengths with those of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency, and Natural England. We’re also continuing to engage with the Welsh Government to support future decisions for Wales.
While these changes take shape, our mission remains the same: to hold water companies to account, drive performance, and ensure the sector delivers real value for customers, communities, and the environment. If you’re passionate about making a difference, this is a unique moment to join us and help shape the future of water, and together we can continue to make a positive impact.
The Role
The Water Supply Infrastructure Engagement Lead role has an important and valuable contribution to enable us to deliver on our goals and regulatory commitments. Following Ofwat’s final determination for the Price Review 2024, we are embarking on an ambitious journey with a significant programme of 28 Strategic Resource Options (SROs).
You will join our RAPID team at Senior Associate level, acting as the main point of contact for a group of Strategic Resource Options (SROs) in the RAPID programme. The RAPID team is dedicated to overseeing the development of strategic water supply options, ensuring these are sustainable for the long term and delivering the best value for society and the environment.
As the lead on a subset of water supply infrastructure projects in our programme, you will focus on ensuring their smooth and efficient delivery. You will engage with a wide range of stakeholders including government bodies, regulators, and water companies, as well as other relevant sectors and interested parties. You will also have a role in shaping the gated process and you will lead the gate assessment of your portfolio of SROs. You will play a vital role in the successful delivery of new supply infrastructure which is essential to improving the resilience of water supplies and reducing unsustainable abstraction from the environment.
As a senior associate, you will operate with substantial autonomy and be expected to plan and progress your work independently. Alongside this, you will have supervision from senior colleagues, and you will work within a network of experienced engagement leads and subject matter experts available to support you and help shape your development. Your work will also be supported by a specialised project management office to equip you with the tools you need to focus on adding value and achieving results.
This is an exciting time to join an experienced team with established processes and methods, as well as a continuous improvement mindset. This role offers varied and interesting work, an opportunity to make a difference for the environment and customers, and a focus on your development and growth in a supportive and inclusive environment. Join us to help in shaping the future of water regulation.
About You
Below are some of the key essential experience, skills & knowledge required for this post:
- Experience of working with internal and external stakeholders, across multiple organisations (e.g. other regulators) to gather, share and use information to deliver a common objective. This is ideally from within the water sector, regulatory sector, planning sector or other relevant sectors.
- Experience of working under pressure, effectively planning, prioritising, and managing a varied and changing workload to meet different, and often tight, deadlines.
- Ability to work independently, and as part of a team, using creativity and innovative approaches to achieve results.
- Good written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present complex information to non-technical audiences and experience of formulating, presenting, and writing clear and concise evidence-based advice to inform policy development and decision making.
- Ability to think strategically and use creative problem solving in complex areas.
Why You Should Join Us
- People Centric: Our people are at the heart of Ofwat and everything we do – we ensure all voices are heard and treat each other with respect; you’ll be given the autonomy and the support to do your role in the best way.
- Innovative Work Environment: We embrace agile and new ways of working and have a culture build on trust, flexibility, and collaboration.
- Development Opportunities: Gain valuable experience and develop your skills in a supportive and dynamic setting.
- Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility of working from home combined with the benefits of in person collaboration in our Birmingham and London offices.
- Excellent employer pension contributions of nearly 29%.
- 25 days’ annual leave, increasing to 30 with each year of service, plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave.
- Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership.
- Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies.
- Up to 3 volunteering days per year.
- Recognition vouchers scheme rewarding your hard work.
- Generous shared parental leave and pay supporting your family life.
Follow the link to apply for full details about the role. Please ensure you have submitted your application in full before the below deadline.
Closing date: 23.55 on 26 October 2025
